What do you do if your team lacks potential future leaders?

Leaders are not built in a day. So it's better to hire a new leader in the team. Leading is not a skill to trade off , it is an inbuilt character to add with. There are many people working in the industry but not all are leaders

If your team lacks potential future leaders, start by identifying individuals with leadership qualities and invest in their development through training, mentorship, and giving them responsibilities to lead projects. Encourage a culture of continuous learning and provide regular feedback to nurture their growth. This approach helps cultivate leadership from within the team, ensuring a pipeline of future leaders. Much more effectively from my experience, submitting CPE is mandated for annual appraisal.

The first gap is assuming you have no leaders. There are leaders which contribute positively to the team AND there are leaders which take the team in the opposite direction. These are typically the “class clowns” and “renegades” but are otherwise well received by the organization. A majority of the time, they’re acting out in these ways because their skills and interests not being utilized to the fullest. Take an internal audit of skills, knowledge, interests, among your team and pay special attention to these personas. There could be a great leader waiting to take up the responsibility.

Identify and Develop Existing Talent: Assess the skills and potential of current team members to identify individuals who have the potential to step into leadership roles in the future. Once you can identify the potential talent in your organisation provide them with opportunities for growth and development through training, mentorship, and challenging assignments. Create a succession plan that outlines a clear path for the development and promotion of future leaders within the team. This plan should include identifying key positions that need to be filled in the future and grooming potential successors for those roles. These proactive steps can help address the lack of potential future leadership within your team.

Succession planning is the key to produce great leader within the team , good leader always develop his /her successor in order to avoid leadership gap during his absence.

In my opinion the best way to ensure stability and growth is to demonstrate the future leaders. If there are none in the pool available create one . Creating or developing leaders is the best and most reliable strategy Identify the leader or potential leaders with the potential. Invest time , effort in training them. Give them the opportunity to learn , try , shadow and more importantly safely fail within the boundaries. This ensures team resilience , confidence and create an environment where growth is imminent and ideas come to life The best strategy to demonstrate is to live the dream and share it with those who care every day where growth is enjoyable , appreciated and everyone feels wanted and needed

If your team lacks the potential to be future leaders, consider investing in training and development programs to enhance their skills and competencies. Additionally, provide mentorship opportunities and clear career paths to motivate and empower them to grow. If despite these efforts the potential remains limited, it may be necessary to reassess team dynamics and roles to optimize performance and effectiveness.

If my team lacks potential future leaders, then I only have to be blamed for the stalemate created by me, as a leader of the team. Recognising the individual talents, unlocking the hidden potential, empowering the team members to lead on certain challenging situations, inspiring & motivating the team to pursue the continuous learning and development path with a growth mindset are few essential skills that a leader needs to adopt with his/her team members so that identifying the future potential individuals who can lead the team even in our absence.

My perspective: Leadership Development Programs can be a game changer. Implement leadership development programs within the organization to cultivate leadership skills among team members. These programs can include various training programs including workshops, seminars, coaching, and other learning opportunities to help individuals enhance their leadership capabilities. Foster a culture that values and encourages leadership qualities such as initiative, creativity, communication, and problem-solving skills. Provide opportunities for team members to take on leadership responsibilities and showcase their potential.

External Recruitment: If necessary, consider external recruitment to bring in new talent with the leadership skills and experience needed to fill future leadership roles within the team. Look for candidates who align with the organization's values and culture. In many cases it has been proven that the better candidates are waiting outside the team. The external recruit with a fresh perspective may be the appropriate candidate for future leadership roles in the team. So, give it a try.

Here's the magic of pairing new talent with experienced leaders: - Experienced leaders have navigated the trenches. They can share those "what not to do" moments that save new leaders a world of hurt. - A seasoned leader can become a cheerleader, offering encouragement and feedback to help new talent find their leadership voice. - Spending time with strong leaders exposes new talent to different approaches, communication styles, and problem-solving techniques. This isn't about micromanagement, it's about creating a supportive environment where future leaders can blossom. It's an investment in your team's – and your company's – future.